On Monday, January 12, the European Parliament holds a
plenary session.

On Tuesday, January 13, a hearing is scheduled in Washington
on whether Microsoft is in contempt of court in its
antitrust lawsuit.

On Wednesday, January 14, a motion is expected to be filed by attorneys for Timothy
McVeigh, sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing.

On this day

In 1788, Connecticut ratified the U.S. constitution and became
the fifth member state.

In 1792, the Treaty of Jassy ended the Russo-Turkish War; the
Russian frontier was extended and the Ottomans also gained
territory.

In 1793, French aeronaut Jean-Pierre Blanchard made the first
balloon flight over the North American continent.

In 1806, Lord Horatio Nelson, British naval hero, was buried
at St Paul's Cathedral in London; he led the British fleet
against the French at Trafalgar in October 1805 and was mortally
wounded in the victory.

In 1873, Napoleon III, Emperor of France and nephew of
Napoleon I, died; his defeat by Prussia in 1871 forced him into
exile in England, where he lived until his death.

In 1875, Alfonso XII landed at Barcelona after being
proclaimed King of Spain.

In 1878, Victor Emmanuel died and was succeeded as King of
Italy by Umberto I.

In 1923, Don Juan de la Cierva, Spanish flier and inventor,
made the first successful flight of an autogyro, forerunner of
the helicopter.

In 1945, U.S. forces landed on Luzon island in the
Philippines.

In 1957, Anthony Eden resigned as British prime minister just
months after the Suez Canal crisis.

In 1960, construction work started on the Aswan High Dam in
Egypt.

In 1962, Japan and the United States signed an agreement for
Japan to pay $290 million in settlement of its debt for post-war
U.S. aid.

In 1964, 22 Panamanian students died during riots
which began after U.S. residents of the Panama Canal zone
prevented them from hoisting their flag there.

In 1972, fire destroyed the liner Queen Elizabeth in waters
off Hong Kong.

In 1973, Rhodesia closed its Zambesi river border with Zambia
due to guerrilla attacks.

In 1980, in Saudi Arabia, 63 Muslim fanatics were beheaded for
their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in November
1979.

In 1984, the Jordanian parliament was reconvened for the first
time in ten years.

In 1992, Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina declared a separate
republic and said it would be part of federal Yugoslavia.

In 1994, gunmen in South Africa shot and killed a journalist and
wounded two in an attack on a party of officials, including ANC
General-Secretary Cyril Ramaphosa.

In 1996, Chechen rebels seized some 2,000 hostages in a
southern Russian town and threatened to kill them if their
demands were not met.

In 1996, international donors pledged a total of $1.37 billion
in aid to the new Palestinian Authority.

Newslink

British Prime Minister Tony Blair heads to Tokyo for a state visit today. Curious to see what he'll see? Check out Hirofumi Inomata's Panorama Photograph Art Gallery for a wide-angled look at the city.